


shadows walking home

by aphrodaisyacs



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Are you Loki God of Knives?, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Canon-Typical Violence, Except Thanos and the Black Order, Fix-It, Gen, Jotunn Loki (Marvel), Loss of Limbs, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, POV Multiple, Shitstorm with a Happy Ending, Steve and Tony Reconcile, They all deserved better and you know it, Thor has the worst best ideas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-24
Updated: 2018-09-22
Packaged: 2019-05-27 08:58:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15021149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aphrodaisyacs/pseuds/aphrodaisyacs
Summary: He’s probably going to die. Using the Infinity Stone might burn him inside out to the point of no return. Maybe he’ll lose control and he’ll send them both flying to their deaths, until their bodies float endlessly through the icy unforgivable vacuum of space.But it’s better than the certainty of having his last breath crushed out of his throat in Thanos’ grip.Tesseract between his blistered fingers, he thinks about safety andpulls.Or: The one where Loki isn’t dumbed down for plot reasons and the Butterfly Effect ensues





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been 2 months since Infinity War and I'm still salty. The Reality Stone is mine now and I’m using it on the entire movie.
> 
>  
> 
> Fun fact: This is the first fanfic I've written since 2013 and it's also my first MCU fic.
> 
>  
> 
> P.S. Loki may be important, but he's not the main character. This fic rotates around everyone's POVs like in the film.

_It’s not enough,_ the realisation is a sickening weight in Loki’s stomach. His bones ache from exhaustion, his arms burn from the depletion of his magic. He tastes ash, smoke and blood in the air and between his lips. The ground shakes and the Hulk roars.

But it’s not enough.

Even the great green beast, the strongest, most indestructible, terrifying, _the Champion_ ‒ their last hope against Thanos’ raw power. He isn’t enough.

He’s bent over Thor as if his brother could actually be protected by his weakened body. He knows that Thor too, had completely burnt out all of his lightning and is teetering on the edge of consciousness.

They are going to die. Except…

The soft blue glow of the Tesseract is harsh in its salience. He can reach it. The Space Stone‒ he can use it. Jump through space. Jump to somewhere where there’s help. Somewhere they can stall just long enough where they can recover, gather their strength…

Loki looks over at where Heimdall had fallen. He is met with golden eyes burning with resignation, hope, and the determination to carry out one final act of defiance. Those eyes slide over to the Hulk’s losing battle. Loki feels a pang in his chest. He knows what he must do.

He’s gripping Thor so hard his knuckles somehow turn even whiter. He reaches out to the Tesseract.

He’s probably going to die. Using the Infinity Stone might burn him inside out to the point of no return. Maybe he’ll lose control and he’ll send them both flying to their deaths, until their bodies float endlessly through the icy unforgivable vacuum of space.

But it’s better than the certainty of having his last breath crushed out of his throat in Thanos’ grip.

Tesseract between his blistered fingers, he thinks about safety and _pulls_.

The world tugs and swirls around him, but panic reverberates through his entire being when he sees Corvus lunge at them right as the ship dissolves into the vacuum of space.

 

* 

 

They land amongst floating rocks.

Corvus immediately thrusts his weapon at Loki, but he is blocked with a punch from Thor. The two of them grapple with each other, sending each other’s weightless bodies flying into a boulder.

Loki barely registers the blue creeping onto his fingertips as he summons his last knife. He kicks off against a nearby rock, propelling himself towards the two struggling figures.

He drives the knife through Corvus’ skull.

Corvus stills. His grip on his weapon loosens.

Loki doesn’t think twice before snatching the spear out of the already stiffening grip.

Thor pushes Corvus’ body away, then ducks to avoid a rock the size of his head. Loki grabs onto his brother’s armour before the idiot can send himself crashing into another rock.

_Why are we here_ , he sees Thor mouthing. He can’t answer, and it’s not just because the vacuum would suck his voice away. He doesn’t know why he sent them to the remains of Asgard (he does). It is little more than pile of rocks (it used to be home, _safety_ , even when it became his prison). He’d wasted some of his last remaining drops of energy (he’d wasted it on _sentiment_ ).

He can’t even muster the strength to react when he looks down and sees that his hands had turned completely blue. Instead, he draws in absolutely everything left in him and pulls at the Tesseract once more.

This time, however, pain sears through his entire body and it is almost impossible to fight against the Tesseract pulling right back at him.

He barely registers Thor’s horrified expression before everything fades to black.

 

* * *

 

The Guardians stare at the man they’ve picked up from the debris. He returns their stares with a steady golden gaze.

“So‒ Heimdall,” Gamora begins, “Your ship had the Space Stone, but then its keeper used it to escape and left everyone else for dead?”

“No,” says Heimdall. “Half of the ship‒ nearly all of them non-combatants‒ were evacuated. And by then, the remaining half who stayed to fight were all killed by Thanos and the Black Order. Only four of us were left. Loki took Thor with him, but the moment the Space Stone slipped from his grasp, Thanos merely used the Power Stone to destroy the rest of the ship and left. I sent Banner to Midgard before the explosion hit.”

“I am Groot?” Groot asks, finally looking up from his game.

“Also known as Earth. Terra.”

Rocket’s jaw drops.

“You speak Groot?”

“Yes,” Heimdall says, tilting his head slightly forward in acknowledgement.

Peter clears his throat.

“I mean, Groot isn’t _that_ hard to pick up,” he says, walking into the conversation with the casualness of a man trying too hard to be casual. “Like I was a _natural_ at it back when Groot turned back into a little sapling.” He turns, only to be met with scrunched faces and raised eyebrows from his friends rather than the acknowledgement he was hoping for. The only indication of Heimdall’s mild bemusement is a minuscule furrow in his brows, which Peter takes as a challenge, if the way he straightens like a territorial swan is any indication.

“Why are you trying to make yourself look taller?” Mantis asks, antennae twitching curiously.

“What’re you talking about? This _is_ how tall I am.” He broadly gestures at his entire body, which makes his hands accidentally smack into Mantis. She gasps.

“You’re insecure!” She sounds delightfully surprised by her discovery. “And jealous.”

“ _What?_ ” Peter exclaims. “No I’m not!”

“Peter!” Gamora cuts in, not even bothering to mask her annoyance. When the entire ship falls silent, she sighs.

“The entire time I knew Thanos he only ever had one goal: to bring balance to the universe by wiping out half of all life. He used to kill people planet by planet, massacre by massacre…”

“Including my own,” Drax softly adds.

“If he gets all six Infinity Stones, he can do it with the snap of his fingers.” Gamora punctuates it with a snap of her own. It echoes sharply in the silence of the ship. The aura of solemnity is blanketing its occupants, whose gazes and bodies are wilting from the gravity of their situation. Except for Heimdall, who is looking at Gamora thoughtfully.

“We need to stop him,” she continues. “Which means we need to know where he’s going next.”

“He is after the Reality Stone in Knowhere,” Heimdall says, finally breaking his silence.

“How would you know any of that?” Gamora asks sharply.

“Years ago, Asgard secretly entrusted it to the Elder Taneleer Tivan.” Upon seeing the Guardians’ blank looks, Heimdall adds, “You may know him as the Collector.”

“No way,” Peter says. “Only an idiot would give it to the Collector.”

“How do you know he won’t go after any of the other stones?” Gamora cuts in.

“My sight and hearing extends throughout the universe. Thanos is currently alone, and preparing for his journey towards Knowhere. If we are fast enough, we have a chance of arriving before him.”

Gamora chews her lip.

“Then does that mean you know where all the other stones are?”

“Time, Mind and now Space are on Midgard. He currently has the Power Stone, which leaves the Soul Stone.” Heimdall pauses. “But there must be some powerful magic guarding the Soul Stone, for I cannot see it.”

“So… even you don’t know where the Soul Stone is?” Only Heimdall manages to hear the artificial steadiness in Gamora’s voice.

“No, I do not.” He looks into her eyes and sees trepidation carefully hidden under layers of steel. He understands. And he dips his head apologetically. “I’m sorry.”

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Peter says, physically stepping between them. “Rocket! Let’s turn this thing around to Knowhere.”

“Oh are you kidding me, back to bossing _me_ around now?” Rocket rolls his eyes but follows Peter to the cockpit anyway. “Come on, Groot, let’s go.”

 

* * *

 

A giant ring. Rubble. Destruction. Two grotesque figures, fanned by flames.

_TONY STARK MISSING_

It all flashes across the small screen, painful reminders that their stolen moments can be snatched back so abruptly, so messily, that their tentative blossom of hope get snagged and torn out as well.

Just a little more time. That was all they wanted.

But a blast of blue energy sends Vision flying into the pavement, shattering the peace of the cool night.

Wanda reacts by throwing her own red energy in the direction of the attack. She sees it hit an alien woman-like figure before she turns back to Vision, who is now stripped of his human skin and embedded into the stone road.

“I’m okay… I’m okay,” Vision wheezes as Wanda propels them both into a temporary hiding spot.

And he is, Wanda realises once she’s done a quick scan on him using her powers. The blast of blue energy appears to have done little more than leaving him winded and breathless.

When the alien woman attacks again, Wanda makes herself as much of a target for the hits and blows as she can. The woman may be physically tougher and faster than her, but in between ducking the three-pronged spear, Wanda dredges up her powers and her hand-to-hand training from the Black Widow and Captain America.

They’re evenly matched.

(Thank god the woman seems to be alone)

Eventually Vision joins the fight, and while the woman is too busy deflecting his golden beam from the Mind Stone, Wanda seeps her magic into the woman’s mind.

_Sleep_ , she wills.

The woman crumples to the ground.

 

 *

 

Wanda watches the woman stir as she feels the last vestiges of her magic run its course. The woman had been bound once Steve, Sam and Natasha arrived and though Natasha’s the only one who stayed behind to help watch over their unconscious captive, Steve and Sam are still nearby, dealing with the alien spaceship they had found parked above the train station. 

Wanda’s pulse quickens as they watch the woman tug at her restraints, snarling when she’s unable to budge the vibranium even with her strength.

Natasha begins the interrogation, and Wanda summons a small cloud of magic around her clenched fists, just in case.

But the woman’s demeanour suddenly changes, her hot anger hardening to ice cold apathy. She merely rolls her eyes at Natasha’s attempts to talk to her, and she looks almost bored at the red energy crackling at Wanda’s fingertips. Instead, she silently stares at Vision with an intensity that causes him to self-consciously reach up to the stone on his forehead.

Wanda feels a surge of anger at the woman. The _nerve_ of her, and whoever she is working for, to feel entitled to the stones and their power, as if it justifies all the death, all the destruction they have caused.

She almost doesn’t notice Steve approaching their corner and Sam landing next to him. The woman seems to be aware of them too, because she finally breaks her silence with laughter. The sound sends a crawling sensation down Wanda’s neck. Natasha swings the prongs of the trident at the woman’s throat in warning, letting the tips pierce her skin until three thin trails of dark blue run down her neck. The only indication of pain is a short gasp, which is quickly replaced by a feral grin.

“You’re no match for Thanos. He’s far more powerful than you can ever imagine. The stones belong to him, and he’ll restore balance to the universe. It doesn’t matter if you kill me here, because you won’t be able to stop him.”

Natasha hums.

“Is that so?”

The woman juts her chin out, seemingly ignorant to the way the gesture made the prongs sink further into her throat.

Natasha exchange glances with Steve. His expression is unreadable, but his crossed arms tense up slightly. Wanda feels her stomach drop.

Natasha gives the trident a final push.

A sharp crack.

A hoarse gasp.

A body crumples to the ground.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realised that it's only the first chapter and I already killed off two Black Order members ¯\\_(ツ) _/¯
> 
> Anyways my tumblr is [here](http://aphrodaisyacs.tumblr.com/)! Feel free to talk to me :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce is racing towards the med bay, equal parts hope and dread pulsing through his mind. By the time he sees the familiar large figure hunched next to a bed, his chest feels ready to burst.
> 
>  
> 
> When Thor spots him, Bruce finds himself engulfed in a hug which he’s sure will bruise his ribs, but he can’t find it in himself to care because Thor is alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: there is non-canon limb loss in this chapter because Thanos is a dickhole
> 
> Anyway here's your chapter

Bruce’s heart is pounding so loudly that on any other day, he would’ve thought it to be the Other Guy trying to punch his way out of his current body. But for some reason, on the one occasion where having the Other Guy in control would actually be preferred, that stupid green asshole decides _not_ to appear.

_What a dick._

Rhodey was the one to greet him when he stepped back into the Avengers Headquarters for the first time in three years. It is mind-boggling how much technology had advanced in that span of time‒ it felt like he had just blinked and suddenly there’s now there’s live, holographic, 3D projections replacing Facetime calls. But the first thing he had noticed upon returning was the contraption caging Rhodey’s legs.

_It’s been a long three years,_  Rhodey had answered with a wry smile when Bruce asked about it. Then the other man dropped the bombshell that _Thor is here too, he arrived with some blue guy who seemed to be in pretty bad shape_ , before he left Bruce alone for an important call.

Bruce is racing towards the med bay, equal parts hope and dread pulsing through his mind. By the time he sees the familiar large figure hunched next to a bed, his chest feels ready to burst.

When Thor spots him, Bruce finds himself engulfed in a hug which he’s sure will bruise his ribs, but he can’t find it in himself to care because Thor is _alive_.

Even after the hug finally ends, Thor’s hand still lingers on Bruce’s shoulder, as if Bruce will disappear once they stop touching. Bruce can hardly blame him for it. He too, believed that his close friend had died.

When Bruce gets a good look at the blue-skinned figure lying on the bed, he frowns. He studies the other man, trying to place his features with the Asgardians and other aliens who’d also been on the ship. There are patterned ridges on his forehead, cheeks and chin. He has messy black hair, an angular face, sharp cheekbones…

Bruce blinks.

“Is that… _Loki?”_

It is fascinating how different yet similar Loki looks compared to his normal appearance. Bruce stops at the foot of the bed, even as his morbid curiosity urges him to have a closer look.

“Why is he blue? Is he‒ do you also…?” He waves a hand around his face.

“What? No,” Thor laughs. “He’s adopted, remember?”

They fall into a companionable silence, but the joy in the mood dissipates. It leaves the two of them a grim reminder of what they’ve already lost, and what they’ll lose if they don’t take action soon.

Thor’s got the Tesseract. He tells Bruce that he plans on using it to get to some place called Nidavellir, where he seems certain he will acquire a Thanos-killing weapon. Bruce is sceptical, of course, because going there won’t stop Thanos from chasing after the Space Stone. Something more permanent would be better‒ something like destroying it. Thor seems to think it’s possible, and he merely adds “Infinity Stone-destroying” to the list of features for his future weapon. Bruce has no idea how Thor is so certain that he’ll be able to just show up on some faraway planet and get the perfect weapon forged for him on the spot, but he’s learnt not to question such things when it comes to the God of Thunder.

Loki chooses that moment to wake up, as if he has a sixth sense for detecting his brother’s questionable plans.

“Ugh, please tell me this is a nightmare,” Loki grumbles, sounding more like a disgruntled cat than someone who had a foot on death’s doorstep not even half an hour ago. He blinks blearily at Thor’s overjoyed “Loki!” and Bruce is slightly taken aback at the blood red eyes.

“Remember what happened last time we tried to destroy an Infinity Stone?” Loki glares at Thor.

“It’ll be different this time! We have experience now!” Thor insists.

Loki winces, then glares at his blue hand.

“Well _I_ can’t even shift back, so whatever you’ve got planned probably won’t work.”

Thor waves a hand dismissively.

“Oh no, it’ll work fine, because you’re staying here to recover. And help the Avengers, of course.”

Bruce feels his eyebrows shoot up at the boldness of the declaration. He doesn’t know how much Rhodey knows about Loki’s situation (probably not at all, if Bruce had to guess). He has even less of an idea of how the other Avengers would react to Loki, though as a former enemy it is doubtful he’ll get much of a warm welcome. He’ll definitely have a rough time around the others without Thor as a buffer.

“ _What_ ,” Loki says, voice completely flat.

“Yeah! Banner’s going to be staying with you.”

Bruce gapes.

“I am?”

_“He is?”_

“Yeah,” Thor says. “Look, all I need to do is go to Nidavellir, get the weapon made, destroy the Space Stone, then kill Thanos. It shouldn’t be too hard.”

_It shouldn’t be too hard_ , Loki mouths disbelievingly at Bruce. Bruce can only shrug helplessly.

“There’s two more stones on Earth‒” Thor continues.

“One,” Bruce interrupts.

“One?!”

Bruce clears his throat.

“Yeah, Fish Face took the wizard, Tony and some kid back to space with him.”

“Oh. Well.” Thor seems to quickly get over it though. “Help the others protect Vision. He’s sending that army after the Mind Stone, remember?”

“Yes, yes,” Loki says, rolling his eyes. “I lost my magic, not my brain cells. Look, if you don’t come back alive, I’ll personally go and kill you myself.”

Thor grins, and salutes them with the Tesseract.

“Deal.”

 

* * *

 

Knowhere is just as much as a shithole as it was the last time Gamora was there, swarming with beings who seem completely oblivious to the imminent threat of Thanos. The only one who seems to be aware of anything happening in the wider galaxy is the Collector, but he is extremely reluctant to part with the Reality Stone.

“Now I can’t just give it to you, because that will be bad business,” he insists.

“Yeah we got this limited offer, called ‘Thanos will come after us instead and leave your ass alone’. You can take it or leave it,” Rocket says, sounding like he’s seconds away from snatching the glass cylinder, consequences be damned.

The Collector purses his lips and frowns at the swirling red mass. Then, he turns to Heimdall.

“Where is he now?”

Heimdall’s eyes suddenly flash a startlingly bright orange, causing several of the Guardians to react with audible surprise and awe. A few moments later his eyes fade back to their usual gold.

“He’ll arrive at Knowhere within a few minutes.”

The Collector tsks.

“And how many does he have already?”

“Just the Power Stone.”

The Elder blows out a breath and clasps his hands together.

“Alright. I have a plan.”

 

* 

 

_Here’s what worked:_

_Thanos is greeted by the sight of the Guardians coiled in defence._

_He doesn’t believe what he sees._

_He unleashes a wave of energy from the Power Stone._

_It wipes out the Collector’s Reality Stone-induced illusion through sheer force._

_The “Guardians” are revealed to be black hole grenades._

_The blast from the Power Stone triggers them._

_Thanos is forced to wield the Power Stone by blasting back enough concentrated energy it becomes a shield against the black holes._

_He’s distracted._

 

*

 

_Here’s what went wrong:_

_They aren’t fast enough._  

_They jump out of their hiding places, but they don’t attack him quickly enough._

_Gamora’s blade barely nicks him in the neck._

_He doesn’t lose control over the Power Stone._

_He doesn’t get swallowed by the black holes._

_Instead, he perseveres._

 

*

 

The backlash tears the entire museum apart. Gamora’s ears are ringing and she feels her movements crushed thoroughly under the weight of metal and concrete. She’s barely able to turn her head and she tries to ignore the way the dust still settling is suffocating the small pocket of air she’s encased in. She spits out the taste of smoke and attempts to get her bearings.

There’s a small gap to her right. Good. Even if she ends up trapped here for hours, she’ll still be able to breathe. It also doubles as a small window to the world outside. Her vision is already blurring and on top of the haze of smoke and dust, she can barely make out the looming figure of Thanos in the far distance. He is towering over someone she can’t see, and his lips are twisted into that familiar half-pitying smile fuelled by pure condescension. 

She hates it.

She hates him so much.

It’s enough to renew her efforts in squirming her way out of her heavy prison, and while she’s able to move her left arm a little now, her right arm still won’t obey her.

She catches a glimpse of red in the corner of her vision.

_No._

Giant purple hands gently mould the glowing red mass until it slowly solidifies into a red stone pinched between his fingers.

The air shifts the moment he slips the Reality Stone into his gauntlet.

Gamora quietly draws in a shuddering breath. She’s next. He’s going to dig through the debris for her, because he’ll want the Soul Stone next.

And she can’t even _move_.

But Thanos suddenly stops. He crouches down, disappearing from the view of her narrow window. When he straightens again, he cradling whatever it was that had caught his attention. For some reason he seems to find it horrifying, the long tubular thing‒ it’s an arm, with a familiar-looking switchblade still loosely caged in green fingers.

Gamora’s heart stops.

That’s her arm.

That’s her fucking arm.

She couldn’t move her right arm because _she didn’t have a right arm to move_.

It’s as if the sight of her missing arm had drained the adrenaline from her veins, because the entire right side of her body is suddenly swallowed by white hot pain. Her vision dissolves into static, and she can barely make out the blurry, shrinking figure of Thanos before she passes out.

 

* * *

 

When Steve walks into the Avengers Headquarters, he expects to see Bruce, but what he doesn’t expect to see is a ragged-looking blue man with a glaive, trailing two steps behind the doctor.

“And you are?” Steve asks, trying to mask his bemusement. 

“I am here to help,” the blue man replies simply. Then he flashes Steve a smile which sets off several alarms in his head. He’s seen this face before, he’s sure of it. But where would he have met a blue alien?

Steve turns to Bruce, who looks back nervously.

Huh.

“So,” Bruce begins, interrupting the silence before it becomes awkward. “Some of you have already met him before, but… a lot has happened and things have changed.” He inhales before continuing. “Loki’s on our side now and Thanos‒ _he’s_ the one who sent Loki to attack New York. And we need all the help we can get against Thanos.”

Oh.

Steve gives the blue man _(Loki)_ a more thorough once-over. The images of the Loki from his memory begin to bleed into the reality of the one standing in front of him‒ the shape of his features, the hair, his height, the way his fingers rest on the handle of the glaive _(just like the sceptre)_ , that voice…

But what Steve also notices is that Loki looks like he’s trying to remain nonchalant at being skewered by everyone’s stares, which range from disbelieving to judgemental. His face is impassive, but his head is slightly bowed and he isn’t meeting anyone’s eyes. It’s almost as if he’s steeling himself for rejection.

“Wait, Loki? As in tried-to-invade-New-York Loki?” Sam says in disbelief.

“Oh my god.” Rhodey gapes. “ _That’s_ who Thor brought back? I thought it was some new alien buddy.”

Steve also hears Wanda and Vision beginning to murmur behind him, and he decides enough is enough.

“Alright.” His voice cuts through the room and everyone falls silent. His eyes meet Loki’s disbelieving red ones. “What do you have for us?”

When they manage to settle down to talk, Steve finally gets a better sense of what the alien woman from earlier had been raving on about. According to Bruce and Loki, Vision’s stone is one of the Infinity Stones that Thanos is after, and the Mad Titan intends to send the largest army in the universe to Earth to get it.

It is a strange sight, seeing the two of them working together like this. Hell, the last time Steve had even heard about Loki, Thor had told the Avengers that his brother “died a hero’s death”, while pleading with his red-rimmed eyes for them not to rejoice in his death. Meanwhile, Bruce’s extended absence and radio (and satellite‒ Tony had checked) silence had led them to fear the worst for him. But it turns out the reason why they aren’t currently at each other’s throats is because they (along with Thor, who’d apparently checked in at the HQ then immediately left for another planet) had gone on a hectic space adventure which involved teaming up and saving an entire realm from an apocalypse. And now they’re here because they’re trying to prevent another apocalypse, this time with the universe at stake.

Eventually everyone agrees to separate Vision from the stone so Wanda can destroy it. The only way to do so is in Wakanda, so they all board the Quinjet.

After Steve tells Sam and Natasha the coordinates, he leaves the cockpit and goes looking for Loki. In the common area, Bruce and Rhodey are deep in conversation and Wanda and Vision are silently huddled together, but there’s no sign of Loki. Just as he turns to go to the rooms, he nearly walks into someone.

“Looking for me, Captain?” Loki asks, looking almost amused.

Steve pauses. He’s decided to trust Bruce and Thor’s judgement, and from what he’s seen so far Loki seems to genuinely want to help. A small voice at the back of his head (which sounds suspiciously like Natasha’s) tells him that Loki might betray them later, but Steve quickly shelves it away. As Bruce had said, they need all the help they can get. Instead, he focuses on how Loki subconsciously runs his fingers over the patterned blue skin on the back of his hands and the way his jaw tightens, as if he’s uncomfortable with the way it feels. As if he’s trapped in a form he isn’t used to.

“Are you alright?” Steve finally settles on. Loki looks at Steve as if he’s sprouted another head.

“Truly a man of righteousness, aren’t you.” Loki’s smile feels vaguely mocking, but Steve can also detect the underlying weariness. “Inquiring after _my_ wellbeing. Aren’t you going to threaten me? Ask if I’m up to another one of my tricks, if I’m going to stab you in the back?”

Steve politely responds with a wry smile of his own.

“Are you?”

Loki holds his gaze for a moment longer, then scoffs.

“No.” The corners of his mouth twitch upwards. “But only because that would be too predictable.”

Steve only raises his eyebrows, amused in spite of himself.

“So why _did_ you want to talk to me?” Loki asks, cocking his head curiously.

Steve sighs.

“I’m not going to forget what you did in New York. I don’t think any of the others will either. But whatever you do from this moment on is more important than what you did back then.”

“So, what?” Loki’s laugh is short and hollow. “Have I earned the good Captain’s forgiveness already?”

“This isn’t about forgiveness.” Steve crosses his arms. “It’s about second chances.”

“And you believe someone like me deserves a second chance?”

“No.” Steve doesn’t miss the hurt that flashes through Loki’s blood red eyes. “Because it’s not up to me to decide who deserves that. It’s not up to anybody. This second chance is just something you have. You’ve already used it to save Asgard. You’ve also used it to keep the Space Stone away from Thanos. I’m sure you can think of using it for other things in the future.”

Loki looks away, and Steve can practically hear the gears grinding in his head.

“I see.” Loki’s voice is quiet, thoughtful. “Well, I suppose I’ll look forward to working with you, Captain.”

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gamora’s blood runs cold.
> 
> Suddenly, Father is no longer watching.
> 
> Instead he looms next to her, above her, a pillar blocking out the stars and the rest of the galaxy. The sky rumbles in the distance.
> 
> “You know where it is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we have our breather chapter! Sorry that nothing much happens here plot-wise, but it's important to let our characters take a breather in the midst of the shitstorm right?

_“Begin.”_

 

* 

 

_This is what Gamora knows:_

_Nebula always attacks first‒ she always attacks with her full strength._

_Nebula also fights like a cornered animal. Her blows are ferocious, and they always aim to hurt, maim, cripple._

_Anything to give herself an advantage._

_Anything so that she is no longer the weaker one._

 

* 

 

_This is what Gamora also knows:_

_Father is watching._

 

* 

 

_Gamora ducks under Nebula’s knife and tries to sweep her sister off balance._

_Gamora has come to expect the first blow from Nebula._

_Nebula has come to expect falling, and picking herself up right after._

_Their blades collide._

_Nebula flips Gamora to the ground._

_Gamora breaks her fingers._

 

* 

 

_Father watches on._

 

* 

 

_She’s pinned beneath Nebula’s legs. Her throat is being crushed under the weight of her sister’s arm._

_She’s struggling to flip them over, and her breaths are coming out in shallow wheezes._

 

* 

 

_Father watches on._

 

* 

 

_She sees something flicker through the dark pools of Nebula’s eyes._

_The grip around her throat loosens slightly, and that’s all she needs._  

_Nebula’s angry howls echo across the training grounds._

_Gamora is pressing her stolen knife against Nebula’s throat. She feels her sister strain against her relentless grip._

_She looks into Nebula’s eyes and sees rage. Pain. Betrayal._

_“You always wanted to win!” Nebula bites out. “I just wanted a sister!”_

_Gamora’s blood runs cold._

 

* 

 

_Suddenly, Father is no longer watching._

 

* 

 

_Instead he looms next to her, above her, a pillar blocking out the stars and the rest of the galaxy. The sky rumbles in the distance._

_“You know where it is.”_

_He steps closer._

_The sky shakes._

_The ground beneath them trembles._

_She can’t speak._

_She can’t move._

_The world around her is convulsing so much that she barely notices when everything finally explodes and then there’s pain, pain, PAIN‒_

 

* 

 

A scream rips out of her throat as she catapults herself into consciousness. Something attempts to cage itself around her shoulders and she thrashes away, but it sends spikes of pain stabbing into the entire right side of her torso.

_NotsafeInjuredWhereHowWhathappened‒_

Her back hits something hard. Flat. A wall. Her lungs are heaving in clear air. Her hand feels out for the epicentre of her pain and her fingertips graze against rough, stiff cloth.

Rough, stiff cloth and a throbbing heaviness instead of where her right arm should be.

The world refocuses in front of her and she sees Peter standing on the far end of the room- her room. His hair sticks up in odd tufts out of the bandages around his head, his mouth hangs slightly open and his arms are held up in surrender. The shock and concern in his wide eyes knock something loose from her mind.

“Oh no… Peter I’m  _so sorry_ ,” Gamora gasps before stumbling towards him and enveloping him with her remaining arm, half to hug him and half to support her unsteady legs.

“Shh… it’s okay… it’s okay…” Peter whispers back. He is warm and he smells like the sharp tang of healing salve, and Gamora buries her nose in the scent to remind herself that she’s safe, she’s  _here_ , on the Milano with her friends while Thanos…

“Thanos.” She abruptly pulls away, dread crawling through her veins again. “What did he‒ where is he‒”

“Gamora,” Peter cuts her off, voice surprisingly calm. “It’s okay. That asshole just took off with the stone but he’s gonna regret leaving us alive. Here, come on, everyone’s outside.”

With a steady hand at the small of her back he half-steers her out of the room. Everyone’s murmured voices become clearer.

“I’ve been wondering,” she hears Drax’s voice say, “Where did the Collector go?”

“He has left Knowhere and gone into hiding,” Heimdall replies.

“That’s it?” Rocket says disbelievingly. “He loses his stone and he just… runs?”

“He has never been a particularly confrontational man.”

Mantis spots them first.

“Gamora!” she exclaims, standing up. “How are you feeling? Does it still hurt?”

Gamora attempts to smile, but it comes out as more of a grimace.

“Yes, but-”

“I can make it stop hurting again,” Mantis says. She tentatively reaching out towards Gamora, who can’t help but notice the cuts and burns littering the exposed skin of her upper arm. “May I?”

“Thanks, but you really don’t have to.”

“It’s okay.” The other woman’s dark eyes glitter with determination. “I kept you asleep while Heimdall tended to your arm. I can do this as well.”

And so Gamora finds herself sitting between Peter and Mantis while the latter has a gentle hand placed on her remaining shoulder. Before the meeting continues, Groot hugs her for the first time since he was a sapling and Rocket half-seriously promises her that he’ll get her a prosthetic.

Heimdall gives her an update on the locations of the Stones: the Mind Stone is still on Terra, but the keeper of the Time Stone is travelling towards Titan and the Space Stone has been moved to Nidavellir. The Soul Stone is still hidden, and Thanos is currently back on the Sanctuary II with the Power and Reality Stones.

“Where is he going?” Gamora asks, even as her mind is sorting out possibilities; Titan and therefore the Time Stone is currently the closest to them all, but strategically speaking, the Space Stone would make getting the rest of the Stones a  _lot_ easier.

“He isn’t,” Heimdall says simply.

“Wait, what do you mean?” Rocket says, looking up from where he’s picking at his bandages.

“He is…” Heimdall pauses, frowning slightly. “Grieving. Whatever plans he had, he’s currently…” He sighs. “He believes you died on Knowhere.”

“Okay but for the record,” Peter cuts in. “I’m not gonna feel sorry for that dickhead.  _He_ was the one who started attacking everyone in the first place. If he feels bad because he got his own daughter killed, then  _good_. He deserves to feel that way.” He glances at Gamora. “I mean, not that you’re dead, y’know, but still.”

Images flash through her mind- Thanos, kneeling down and shoulders stiff with horror. His looming figure hunched over, grieving over something laying in his hands…

“He found my arm,” Gamora remembers.

“Yeah, he picked it up and assumed the worst,” Peter explains. “Hell,  _I_ assumed the worst. In fact, I probably made it even more convincing for him.”

“He wouldn’t stop crying until I checked and saw that you were still alive,” Mantis adds. Surprisingly, Peter doesn’t even attempt to refute the remark. He just sniffles and crosses his arms.

“I’m sorry about your arm,” Drax says sincerely. “But I’m glad that you weren’t the one we lost.”

Everyone else murmurs in agreement, and something soft and warm blooms in Gamora’s chest.

“I think it would be best if we kept Gamora’s status to ourselves,” Heimdall says. “If Thanos believes that she’s dead, then she would be able to recover in peace.”

“Or,” Gamora adds, because she refuses to sit back and feel useless, “I can still fight him but he won’t see me coming.”

“Uh, look,” Peter says, his expression scrunched with reluctance. “You’re amazing and all‒ deadliest assassin in the galaxy, can kick any of our asses if you wanted to,  _but‒_ ” He stops and gestures at her right shoulder. “You literally just lost an arm! Shouldn’t you at least rest a little? Take it easy, get used to things…”

“I have killed beings twice my size with one arm tied behind my back,” Gamora huffs. “I’ll be fine.”

Peter holds up his hands in mock surrender while Drax laughs and claps her on the back.

A beeping sound cuts through the room and everyone turns to Mantis, who fumbles with her communicator. At the loss of contact, a wave of throbbing pain surges through Gamora’s right shoulder again, but she grits her teeth because  _now is not the time_.

“It’s Nebula,” Mantis announces. “She wants us to meet in Titan.”

 

* * *

 

Thor waits patiently as twenty different expressions cycle through Eitri’s face. It’s impressive, really, even though nine and a half of them are variations of disbelief.

“I… suppose,” Eitri slowly begins, “that the Stormbreaker could be powerful enough to destroy an Infinity Stone.”

“Perfect,” Thor grins. “But I’ve also been wondering something since I arrived- do you believe I can use the Space Stone to restore the forge? You may have heard of this already, but that was how we fixed the Bifrost."

Eitri frowns.

“Are you sure that it is wise to abuse its power? I’ve heard that those Stones have a level of sentience, and that there are even instances where they’ve… disagreed… with their wielders.”

Thor had suspected as much already, but it’s not as if he has any other choice.

“You could die,” Eitri adds, because his old friend knows him well enough to have realised that Thor’s silence speaks of growing determination and not reluctance.

“Well I’m almost certain that I’d die if I went up against Thanos without the Stormbreaker. I couldn’t reason with the Mad Titan, but I can probably reason with the Space Stone.”

Eitri blinks at him.

“Thor… just because it might be sentient doesn’t mean you can  _communicate_ with it.”

“Doesn’t hurt to try.” Thor lifts the Tesseract until it is eye level. “O Great One, would you so kindly lend your powers to me, to repair what has been wrongfully destroyed and to restart the forge of Nidavellir?”

It might be due to his wishful thinking, but the cyan light at the cube’s centre glows a little brighter. It’s as good as an agreement he can get.

“Thank you,” Thor beams. Noticing that Eitri’s facial expression is beginning to embark on another journey, he gently pats the top of the cube for good measure.

Then, he sucks in a deep breath.

“Now, shall we get started?”

 

* * *

 

T’Challa watches the Hulkbuster take its first few tentative steps on the training field.

“Don’t worry, you got this!” Colonel Rhodes shouts from the sidelines. “If it’s anything like the smaller suits then it’ll be user-friendly. Just take it easy, baby steps first.”

The  _thunk_ of heavy metal against grass steadily fills the air around them as the Hulkbuster walks around, but the moment Doctor Banner tests out the gauntlet’s repulsor beams, the giant suit completely loses balance and crashes spectacularly into the ground.

“I’m okay!” Banner yells back as he struggles to get the heap of metal back on its feet. From the corner of his eye, T’Challa can see Sergeant Barnes’ brows furrow in mild concern while Rhodes and Wilson make valiant attempts to suppress their laughter.  

A few weeks ago, Stark had been gracious enough to lend the Hulkbuster to the Wakanda Design Group, in exchange for some samples of their nanotechnology. It left the labs buzzing with excitement, as they got to study something that’s proven to be capable of stopping the strongest creature on Earth. Fortunately Wakanda still has the suit, ensuring that Banner will still be able to fight in the impending battle even without transforming into his green alter ego.

T’Challa leaves Banner to get used to the suit, and walks off to find Captain Rogers. He finds the other man experimenting with the collapsible function of his new shields while deep in conversation with Romanov.

“Your Majesty,” she greets.

“Ms Romanov,” he returns. Then he nods at Rogers. “How are you finding them?”

“They’re amazing,” Rogers smiles, turning them over for examination. “Lighter. Easier to carry around than my old one- and I get one on each arm.” The delight in his eyes fade to something rueful. “Can’t throw them around though.”

“No,” T’Challa agrees, feeling a small pang of sympathy for the Captain’s loss, despite everything. “Be careful with the points though, they are very sharp.”

Rogers nods, but his face is already closed off with contemplation. Beside him, Romanov wordlessly gives his shoulder a gentle squeeze.

“Thank you,” Rogers says, sincere blue eyes meeting T’Challa’s. “For everything. I’m really sorry that we’ve put Wakanda in this position- right in the middle of an intergalactic war.”

“Nonsense,” T’Challa replies. “They would have sent their entire army after Vision’s stone no matter which part of the planet you fled to. Wakanda has the best defences on Earth, and we stand a better chance against the invasion if we fought here than anywhere else.”

Rogers hums in agreement, but T’Challa can see that the edges of his expression are still marred by guilt.

“What about the spaceship from Scotland?” Romanov asks.

“Wakanda has taken care of it.” T’Challa can’t help but smile fondly at the memory of Shuri’s squeals of delight when they had towed the ring-shaped ship back into the labs. “Shuri was very excited at the opportunity to explore alien technology. It must have been something she dreamed of as a child. She had even begun dismantling it.”

In the background, he hears another loud crash and a thoroughly unimpressed “Are you sure there isn’t a better alternative?”

Ah, yes- the Avengers’ latest ally, Loki. A blue-skinned humanoid alien who is apparently the same man who led the invasion in New York back in 2012. Okoye has made it no secret that she’d sooner run her spear through his head than trust him, but T’Challa doesn't quite know what to make of him yet.

Upon arriving, Loki and Doctor Banner had provided him as much information as they could about their oncoming enemies. The ships which have landed outside of Wakanda’s dome are filled with Outriders, who are mindless but strong beasts driven purely by their bloodlust. Higher up on the chain of command are the four members of the Black Order: Corvus Glaive (killed by Loki), Ebony Maw (Banner witnessed him leave Earth in pursuit of another Infinity Stone), Proxima Midnight (killed by Romanov) and Cull Obsidian, the sole remaining commander over the Outriders. And the man above them all, Thanos, is apparently so formidable that both Loki and Banner are terrified at the mere mention of him.

While T’Challa has the utmost confidence in Wakanda’s defences, he isn’t blind to the fact their greatest defence throughout history had been their invisibility. This would be the first time Wakanda’s barriers are tested against a direct external assault, and he can practically imagine his ancestors rolling in their graves at the very idea.

“How do you plan to deal with our enemy?” T’Challa asks.

“I don’t think it’ll hurt to see if we can reason with the Black Order,” Rogers says. Ever the optimist and always gravitating towards the most non-lethal option possible. It is something that T’Challa finds he has in common with the other man.

“Unlikely,” says Romanov. “But it doesn’t hurt to try.”

Outside, their time is up.

It is time to meet their fate.

 

* * *

 

The ship rattles as they crash in what has to be the least graceful landing in history. Tony blames it on the shitty design of the spaceship because honestly, who the hell thinks that modelling your ship after a donut is a good idea?

As Strange helps him up, it suddenly hits him that he’d just landed on another planet. Like most kids, he’d entertained the thought of going into space, visiting other planets and even meeting aliens. Once he took over Stark Industries he could’ve made those daydreams into reality; he certainly had the money and the skills to completely revolutionise the space program.

(Too bad he had decided to follow in his father’s footsteps instead)

The three of them slowly pick their way out of the shipwreck. At first Tony thought the acrid metallic taste in the air was due to the ship’s fritzed out engines, but upon stepping out of the exit, it becomes clear that it’s something which hangs heavily throughout the dusty desolate planet.

They step cautiously as they take in the rusted and abandoned giant machine parts dominating the horizon. There is a certain post-apocalyptic feel to it which unnerves Tony more than he would ever dare to admit. Then Peter, who has been twitchy since touchdown, stiffens so suddenly that he causes Strange to crash into him.

“Oh… oh no, this is bad, this is really bad.” Peter's mouth is moving so rapidly that Tony barely catches the words. Then his arms get caught in a ridiculously strong grip as the kid practically hyperventilates up at him.

“Kid, what‒” Tony barely gets out before Peter completely bowls him over.

“Let me just say, if aliens wind up implanting eggs in my chest or something and I eat one of you, I’m sorry.”

“I don’t‒”

Peter inhales loudly.

“What I’m trying to say is-”

“Someone’s here,” Strange interrupts, holding his arms out.

They watch as a single, distant figure emerges from behind what appears to be a giant rusted propellor. Through the orange dust and haze, it is hard to tell what exactly they look like, but even from where he’s standing, Tony can tell that the figure is approximately the same size as the Hulk.

Tony squares his shoulders. He breathes with the sensation of his helmet bleeding out from the neck of his armour until it covers his entire head.

“So this is Thanos, huh.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *whispers* Thor is an Infinity Stone whisperer pass it on
> 
> P.S. Since Thanos doesn't need to take a detour for the Soul Stone he's gonna go straight for Titan amirite?
> 
> sorrynotsorry @Tony, Spidey and Strange


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephen is certain that there’s an ideal world out there- one in which he had gotten the chance to use the Time Stone to scour for the best way to defeat Thanos. There has got to be a world where he had, at the very least, taken the time to glimpse at the countless futures lying in wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So real life got in the way and then uni started again, making this chapter a month late. Whoops?
> 
> Anyway here's a slightly longer chapter to make up for the delay

There are as many universes as there are moments.

Sometimes a choice made in a seemingly insignificant moment has consequences which spill far into the future- the ripples from a misplaced drop of water gradually swelling into the heights of a tsunami. The beat of a butterfly’s wings swirling, spiraling out into a hurricane. 

There are always universes where the drop of water never fell, and where the butterfly never left the leaf it was perched on.

Thus, Stephen is certain that there’s an ideal world out there- one in which he had gotten the chance to use the Time Stone to scour for the best way to defeat Thanos. There has got to be a world where he had, at the very least, taken the time to glimpse at the countless futures lying in wait. He could have easily done it back when the “space donut”, as Stark had so eloquently put it, was still on its way to Titan.

For Stephen, walking into this fight in the hopes of winning is like trying to grope his way out of a labyrinth in complete darkness- on some level it is possible, but it is a frustrating exercise to partake in especially since he knows that somewhere out there, there is a _right_ way to do it. 

There is not enough time to formulate a plan. 

But there is enough time for him to tell Stark and Peter this: 

_Take off the gauntlet._

Their attacks start off out of sync- it is clear that all three of them have their own half-formed plans for separating Thanos from his gauntlet. But then Peter swings forward and shoots a glob of web at Thanos’ eyes. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, Stark throws countless attacks in quick succession, but the Titan merely shrugs off the repulsor energy blasts, missiles and deflects everything else with the Power Stone. Stephen throws out portals to redirect all the deflected attacks back at Thanos, burying him in a series of explosions.

But when the dust settles, Thanos emerges unscathed.

Stephen throws almost everything he can think of- his attempt at trapping Thanos in the mirror dimension is foiled by the Reality Stone, his duplicates are dispersed by the Power Stone. And even as the thought crosses his mind, he can’t, he _can’t_ use the Time Stone, not when he can feel it calling for the other two in the gauntlet. He can only imagine how much it would backfire.

And through it all, Thanos remains irritatingly uninjured.

In fact, the only one who seems to be taking any damage at all is Stark, the self-sacrificing idiot, who at some point thought it was a good idea to engage the Mad Titan in close-range combat. At least Peter seems to have better survival instincts. The kid has been using his agility to his advantage by providing persistent attacks which are intended to distract, then dodging away before Thanos can retaliate.

Stark throws up his shields against a Power Stone-fuelled blast and Stephen transmutes the deflected energy into butterflies to prevent himself and Peter from getting hit. It goes back and forth like that for a while longer, neither party getting the upper hand.

But finally, the three of them manage to slow Thanos down. And that’s all they need.

It takes Stephen throwing a binding spell around the gauntlet, Stark ejecting a perfectly timed trap and the full force of his coolant blasters, and Peter ensnaring Thanos’ legs with webs.

Trapped in the combination of their attacks, Thanos finally stills for a brief second.

Stephen feels a trickle of sweat on his brow as he focuses on tightening the dark red cord around the giant splayed fingers peeking out from the gauntlet. From the corner of his eye, he can see Peter’s spider-legs struggling to keep him from sliding forward.

They only have a moment.

He lets go of the binding spell.

He draws a circle.

The portal closes around the gauntlet.

The gauntlet lands beside him with a sickening squelch, accompanied by Thanos’ distant roar of pain.

Peter leaps back and Stephen and Stark waste no time trying to finish the Titan off. Stark’s repulsor cannons are _finally_ able to make Thanos bleed, and Stephen tries again to trap the Titan in the mirror dimension.

But the moment the world around them begins to split into fractals, something else ripples through the air.

Stephen stills.

_No._

The severed arm wearing the Infinity Gauntlet at his feet flickers, and he watches in horror as it disintegrates into a cloud of bubbles. Stephen’s head swivels towards Thanos- the real Thanos- to see him entirely unharmed, and holding a squirming and struggling Stark’s neck between his fingers as if he’s a disobedient worm.

Red gleams mockingly from the Gauntlet.

“I admire the strength in you,” Thanos says. Even after all that, he doesn’t sound breathless at all. “It’s a pity that you lack power. You’ve had your turn, though.” His grip tightens and Stark chokes.

No. This can’t be happening.

This shouldn’t have happened.

Peter’s horror and panic is distant and tinny to the pounding between Stephen’s ears. The weight of the Eye of Agamotto hangs heavier on his chest than it ever did.

Protecting it is his duty. It is his priority, more important than both Stark and the kid’s lives. More important than his own life.

But seeing Stark being manhandled in the Mad Titan’s grip as if he is a mere ragdoll…

Is this really the best thing to do? What if their deaths are in vain? What if there is an outcome where none of them have to die?

Before he became Sorcerer Supreme, before he even knew about magic, he was a doctor. He had sworn not to let anyone die on his watch. Sacrificing them to keep the Time Stone safe would leave more than just a bad taste in his mouth, even if it means saving entire galaxies’ worth of lives.

Everything feels like it’s completely out of his control, and he hates it. He doesn’t know all the variables, and he doesn’t need to use the Time Stone to know that there are far too many pathways for things to go wrong. He has to make a choice _now_ , and hope for the best.

He hates it so much.

It suddenly comes to Stephen’s attention that Peter is no longer around- the kid seems to have vanished into thin air. A quick glance at Stark and Thanos confirms that neither of them appear to have noticed yet. Stark hasn’t stopped trying to fight his way out of the grip, and half of Thanos’ attention is on Stephen- watching, waiting for him to give up.

But before any of them can react, a blaster gun goes off in Thanos’ face.

 

* * *

 

They aren’t the only ones on Titan anymore. 

That’s something Peter had realised shortly after Thanos dispelled their hope for victory. He isn’t sure whether these newcomers are potential allies or more enemies on Thanos’ side. Either way, his instincts are screaming at him to sneak off and investigate. He’s rapidly running out of excuses to stay, and it’s not as if he’ll be of any use to this standoff that Mr Stark and Dr Strange are having with Thanos. But if worst comes to worst and the newcomers turn out to be enemies, then well… he’ll take care of them himself since Mr Stark and Dr Strange are still preoccupied.

But the moment he finally sees who the newcomers are, he can’t help but stop and stare. For one, two of them look just like humans, and he can’t help but wonder whether they are anything like Thor, especially the tall, dark guy with _weird_ eyes who’s dressed like someone straight out of a fantasy RPG game. Three look almost-but-not-quite human- humanoid, that’s the term he’s looking for. A woman and the man have green skin, while the second woman has antennae and wide, bug-like eyes. And then there’s one of them who look like a raccoon, but the weirdest one in the group has got to be the one loitering at the back who looks like a _walking tree_ , of all things.

Peter opens his mouth, but for once his brain-to-mouth channel is completely empty, so he gives up and snaps it shut a moment later. The entire group radiates enough tension to snap a rubber band each, but his trusty gut feeling tells him that their wariness isn’t directed at _him_.

“I- wha- who- who are you guys?” He finally manages, then mentally kicks himself immediately after, because _way_ to make a first impression, Parker.

“The Guardians of the Galaxy,” grins the shorter human-looking man in a dirty red jacket. “Say, kid, you don’t happen to know where a certain Titan is? He’s about this tall, has some serious issues with genocide and wears the ugliest jewellery ever.”

“Um,” is all Peter manages to get out when the green and red man suddenly draws out a pair of knives.

“Where is he? I’ll kill him now!” Green-Red growls, storming forward only to be stopped by Red Jacket. “Let go, Quill, I’m going to get my revenge!”

“Can you calm down for just, two seconds maybe? Look, you’re scaring the kid!” Quill snaps, gesturing at Peter with something that looks suspiciously like a space-gun. Peter discreetly steps out of the barrel’s trajectory.

“Um, guys?” he reluctantly calls out. “It’s great that you’re here, ‘cause I kind of need help- well _we_ need help- Mr Stark and Dr Strange are, well, I’m pretty sure they’re still fighting Thanos, and not to disrespect them or anything but it’s kinda not looking too good for them, and I’m _really_ worried, which is why-”

“Woah, woah, woah!” the raccoon exclaims. “Don’t you need to breathe?”

“I can’t _breathe_ when Mr Stark might be dead!”

“Is he the keeper of the Time Stone?” asks the one-armed green woman.

“No, no, that’s Dr Strange.” Peter pauses. “ _Oh my god,_ he might be dead too- please, we need to hurry!”

“Say no more,” the raccoon grins, hefting up a blaster that looks bigger than him. Then he immediately darts ahead to clamber onto a pile of rubble.

Peter hears something blow up in the distance, which is followed by manic laughter and more explosions.

“Don’t worry, kid,” Quill says as a mask suddenly materialises over his face, just like Mr Stark’s helmet, which, _woah_. “We’ve got a plan.”

“Uh… okay…?” Peter trails off as Quill charges off into the direction of the fight, followed by Green-Red and Tree. He debates running after them to check to at the very least see if Mr Stark is okay, but when he glances at the remaining part of the alien group, the fantasy RPG guy shakes his head.

“Not yet. I’m sure you have many questions, but in the meantime I believe we should inform you on the details of the plan…”

 

* * *

 

In a beam of blue the barrier splits open and the Outriders spill forth.

Those creatures blindly throw themselves forward at their enemies. Loki knows that they do not have eyes- they don’t need to, for their gaping jaws can taste the scent of nearby enemies. They are hollow husks in mind and spirit, guided purely by their bloodlust.

They are worse than the Chitauri.

The glaive that Loki had snatched off Corvus’ corpse is slightly heavier than the weapons he is used to fighting with, but he is nothing if not adaptable on the battlefield. To his pleasant surprise, the blade is far sharper than he had expected, allowing him to slice through even the leathery hides of the Outriders with relative ease. The snarls and growls of the creatures ring through his ears as he cuts down wave after wave of them.

“How much longer, Shuri?” The voice of Wakanda’s King suddenly cuts through all the chaos around him.

“Nearly halfway done already- that alien tech gave me a few ideas and it’s making things so much easier.” Loki had barely met the Princess of Wakanda, but he can practically hear the grin in her voice.

A grunt. “You’re amazing-” Several distant snarls. “Keep it up.”

Loki’s hearing is filled with the Princess’s delighted laughter, a light-hearted and exceedingly dissonant accompaniment to the gruesome battlefield before him. He would rip the distracting device out of his ears if his hands weren’t preoccupied with holding off the alien beasts. But nonetheless, he understands the purpose of their usage- in fact, they would’ve been useful back when Thor had a habit of running off on his own during their quests. Besides, it would be counterproductive to get riled up over the first piece of good news he’s received so far on this wretched day.

“Someone’s broken off from the herd,” the winged man’s voice interrupts Loki’s musings. “He doesn’t look like them, though- got two arms and an axe. He’s trying to sneak in from the north side.”

_Cull Obsidian,_ Loki realises. He skewers another Outrider and spins to use it as a shield against several others charging at him.

“I got it,” came Banner’s voice.

Loki lets out an involuntary huff of laughter. Of course- how befitting, for the great green beast to be the one to step up to challenge Cull, the strongest of Thanos’ children in terms of raw physical strength. It is unfortunate that it appears it will be be a fight that he won’t be able to witness.

The bodies littering Wakandan soil slowly climb in numbers. The grass is stained by blood both red and black, but the Outriders keep coming. There’s a never ending flow of those horrific, gruesome creatures‒ for every hundred killed, a thousand more swarm through the barrier and claw their way through the dirt.

_How many more of them are there?_

Loki’s grip is so tight that even the blue can’t hide the whitening of his knuckles. He hates the way his steps are already slower, the way the glaive in his hands is already heavier, the way his energy is already draining from his body.

He shouldn’t be fighting so soon after being completely drained of his magic.

But what does he have to lose? He’s already a dead man walking- he has been, ever since he let go of the Bifrost and fell, in almost every way imaginable. Before, he hadn’t considered his flights from death as second chances. Instead, he had snapped himself into pieces trying to bend over backwards for others’ approval, then stolen a throne which turned out to be far more hollow than he had imagined it to be. Perhaps he should use this second chance to haunt Thanos for once, instead of the other way around.

But then one of the Outriders crash into him from behind, knocking the breath out of his lungs and his weapon from his hands. Sensing his moment of weakness, the others converge onto him before he can get the chance to recover.

He doesn’t want it to end like this.

Fallen into the abyss. Slain by the Dark Elves. Either one of them would’ve been preferable to getting mauled alive by these mindless creatures.

Loki’s breath quickens as he squeezes his eyes shut and reaches deep within himself, grasping for something- anything. His magic reserves are still stinging like an open wound, but he reaches down further because there must be _something_ he can use-

There are several ear-splitting _cracks_ and a cacophony of pained screeches. The air around him suddenly feels cooler, stiller.

He warily opens his eyes, then gapes.

Spikes of ice surround him. His tormentors have all been impaled onto its impossibly sharp ends.

Loki’s wide-eyed gaze drops to his blue hands, then back up again at the sight before him. The battle around him is a mere backdrop to the bubble of deja vu that he finds himself trapped in.

He crawls out of his already-melting cage of ice spikes just in time to avoid another Outrider leaping at him, allowing the beast to impale itself amongst its brethren. He experimentally tries to call up the ice again after picking up his fallen glaive, but it fails.

It’s almost laughable. In spite of his curious nature, Loki had had never once even considered mastering control over ice, despite knowing his monstrous heritage for the past several years. Not in his cell after his failed invasion, not even in the private confines of Odin’s chambers after snatching the throne for himself. He had never once tried peeling back his pale skin to see the frosty blue. The knowledge that he’s a monster was already enough- he didn’t need to see it.

But right this moment, in the heat of a battle which could very well decide the fate of the entire universe, it barely matters anymore. The ice is just a tool, like his stolen glaive- crude, mismatched with his sensibilities, but a weapon with its uses.

He falls back into the rhythm of slicing and stabbing his way through oncoming Outriders. At the back of his mind, he silently wills at the ice to come forth again.

Nothing.

He thrusts the blade of the glaive into the shoulder of one of the creatures and uses the momentum to vault himself into the air.

_Come on… come on…_

He pulls.

From within himself, from the air around him.

The moment he lands on the dirt again, he pushes everything out.

It’s like using a muscle he’s never known had existed before. The temperature drops and the air cracks in his lungs from its newfound dryness.

He ducks and rolls to avoid stumbling dark claws. He ignores their screeches as they get skewered by spikes of ice.

As he ducks, weaves and freezes his way through the never ending wave of Outriders, he wonders if anyone else is aware that they’re just pawns. The thought rests bitter and heavy on his mind. Everyone on the battlefield- as much as the Avengers are purported to be the strongest fighters of this planet, each one of them worth an army in strength, at the end of the day they're just lesser foot soldiers in this fight. They’re just bricks of the fortress protecting the Mind Stone until it is destroyed by the Avengers’ witch. And what happens to the bricks are of little consequence, as long as the treasures within remain out of the enemy's reach.

They’re just fighting to buy time, riding on a thin thread of hope.

And so he continues to fight.

 

* * *

 

Thor holds out the Tesseract.

Its power, simultaneously burning and freezing his veins, swallows every inch of his being. He gathers as much as he can and pushes it towards the direction of the sun. 

He imagines the flood of power as a giant hand, wrenching the rings into position one by one until they are aligned- but not too roughly, for Eitri had warned him to be careful not to break the mechanism in the iris. He can see the blue light pulsing even from behind his closed eyelid, he can hear the groan of the giant trapdoor as it is pried open. Then finally burning gold engulfs the blue and he feels a wave of heat as the beam of solar energy hits the forges.

Thor grips the Tesseract as tight as he can, as long as he can. But it burns and it _burns_ , searing him inside out. It is a black hole, sucking his life through his arms until he drops it.

He somehow hears the clatter of the cube against the metal walkway through the roaring in his ears.

He barely registers Eitri yelling about finding the handle as he struggles to keeps his legs from collapsing in on themselves. His vision starts going black at the edges, but the forge in front of him is still flooded with the gold of the sun’s energy.

The trapdoor is still open then.

Good.

The metal walkway is cool against his blazing skin, and _oh_ \- somehow, Thor had crumpled to the floor without realising.

He draws in a shuddering breath, but it is little more than a feeble attempt to keep himself… from slipping… away…

 

* 

 

Something in the universe clicks into place.

Thor feels his body _sing_ for it, for that something just barely out of reach. The sensation grows, flying closer and closer until it shoots straight into his waiting hand. The moment his fingers touch the Stormbreaker’s handle, his entire being is set alight. It is almost comparable to the first time he had used Mjolnir, except his hammer felt more like a bridge to his lightning. Stormbreaker, on the other hand, drowns him with energy until it overflows and spills into the air around him. There is too much and just enough power pulsing through him all at once.

The Space Stone sits innocently on the ground before him.

This is what brought the Avengers together. This is what Heimdall had used to restore the Bifrost, repairing a physical reminder of one of the greatest regrets in his life. This is what he had agreed to trade Loki’s _(Thanos’)_ sceptre for; left behind, the Mind Stone set up all the pieces for what happened in Sokovia. This is what Thanos had slaughtered half of his remaining people over.

Thor may have lived for 1500 years, but the biggest turning points in his life had all occurred within the past decade. He had never really thought about it, but he’s come to realise that the Space Stone had either caused or witnessed most of them.

There is a bitter taste in his mouth as he tightens his grip on the handle.

“Farewell,” Thor murmurs.

He brings down the full force of Stormbreaker onto the Infinity Stone.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're almost at the end now guys :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They win.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you believe that it looks like I'm about to complete my first fanfic?

Holograms of light flit through the air, brushed aside as rapidly as they pop up. None of the floating numbers and figures make any sense to Wanda, and she can feel the anxiety pooling in her lungs and shortening her breaths. Each breath is a reminder of each passing second. And for each second that passes, more people are dying outside on the battlefield.

Wanda bites her lip.

She wants to know much longer there is, but…

As she watches Shuri adjust the appliances hovering over Vision’s forehead, she hesitates. Wanda doesn’t want to interrupt her, and seem pushy and ungrateful for her current progress. And besides, she can only imagine how much pressure the princess is already under.

“It’s alright.” Shuri’s voice startles Wanda out of her thoughts. The princess somehow manages to smile reassuringly at her without looking up from her work. “I should be done in around fifteen minutes.”

Wanda sighs as she feels the tension curled around her shoulders unfurl a little.

Another hologram pops up, but this time it’s a floating image of the Wakandan King.

“We’ve got an unexpected ally. But he’s so strong that our enemies have deployed their greatest weapons in response. We may need backup.”

Wanda feels something sink down to her toes as her eyes meet Shuri’s grim expression.

Her teammates- her friends- they need her right now.

Yet…

She glances at the array of glowing figures floating above Vision’s Stone.

They are so close- in fifteen minutes, it would be over. The Stone would be destroyed, and the universe would be a little safer.

She steps closer to the wide windows. Her heart clenches at the distant sight of giant saws tearing their way through the battlefield.

Her friends are strong. She _knows_ that. She knows she can trust their abilities, in the same way they are trusting her to be strong enough to destroy the Stone.

She has to trust them.

Guilt threatens to swallow her thoughts, but she _has to do this._

With a final, lingering glance at the ensuing destruction below, Wanda turns away from the windows.

“Alright,” Shuri says to Vision. “I’m gonna need you to shut down for a bit.”

At Vision’s bewildered expression, she quickly adds “It’s okay though, once it’s done you’ll automatically regain consciousness.”

“What are you doing now?” Wanda asks curiously.

“I need him to shut down so I can recalibrate him without the presence of the Mind Stone- this is the final thing we need to do, actually. After that, it’ll be safe to physically remove the Stone from him.”

Wanda can only nod. Whatever Shuri’s doing is completely beyond her. She’s never learnt much of science anyway, not since her schooling got interrupted by the war in Sokovia. And it wasn’t as if the HYDRA agents who took her and her brother in bothered with making them learn anything besides their powers.

Tremors suddenly wrack through the floor beneath their feet. There’s commotion outside of the lab.

Wanda can feel her pulse racing, pumping fear and dread through her veins. Her panicked eyes meet Shuri’s.

They are so close.

They can’t let anything happen, especially not now.

The ground continues to shake as Wanda runs to the stairs. The few guards stationed at the tower are all shouting and running up, _away_ from whatever is happening downstairs.

Wanda goes down.

By the time she reaches the lower floor, the trembling from the ground threatens to shake her feet out from beneath her.

She is greeted by a deafening crash and a giant blur of red. A large alien attempts to charge at the downed figure of the Hulkbuster, but Wanda’s ready- a red wave of energy hits the dark figure and once she has him in her grip she pulls him _down._ He goes down like a sack of bricks, but she doesn’t stop pulling- not even when his movements have stilled and his immobile figure has begun to dent even the vibranium floors.

“Sorry ‘bout that,” Banner says sheepishly as the Hulkbuster pulls itself back up. “I think it’d be better if we kept this outside.”

Wanda gives him a terse nod. Keeping her grip on the alien man steady, she throws him at the windows with a deafening crash. The Hulkbuster doesn’t hesitate to leap out after him, but Wanda propels herself through the shattered glass more cautiously.

The Hulkbuster and the alien man crash into the forest below, sending leaves and branches flying with their tangled landing. Banner fires his repulsors and sends the alien flying back. But the alien doesn’t miss a beat- he throws his axe at the Hulkbuster even as he hurtles backwards into the dirt. Wanda grits her teeth and throws a ball of red energy as hard as she can at the axe. It explodes upon impact, sending glowing red fragments of metal flying at the Hulkbuster instead.

The alien growls, and suddenly he moves so fast that Wanda doesn’t manage to scramble away in time before he grabs her by the waist with one giant hand and slams her into the nearest tree.

Pain spikes through the back of her head and she distantly hears herself scream in pain. The greens of the forest blur together and spots of black begin to creep in at the edges. Wanda swallows down a wave of nausea as she struggles to pull herself back up. Her head is pounding and her eyes are watering. Yet her powers remain just out of reach even as she sees the blurry figure of the alien man swinging his fists back.

Just as she’s resigned herself to getting pummelled to death, a blur of green and gold tackle him away from her.

The sounds of a fight begin anew in the distance. Several deep breaths later, Wanda finally manages to stumble onto her feet.

“Wanda! Are you okay?” came Banner’s voice. She is offered a giant red-plated hand, and she makes the mistake of shaking her head- it sends the world spinning again.

Banner allows her to lean against the Hulkbuster, and she finally sees who her unexpected saviour was.

Wanda feels her stomach drop when she sees Vision struggling in his fight against the alien. Large, leathery fingers swipe at Vision and for one heartstopping moment, they scrape against the surface of the Stone. But Vision promptly phases out of the grip and backs away against the rocky wall, leaving the alien to grasp at thin air. The alien growls and lunges at him, but Vision phases out again at the last second, leaving him to crash head-first into the jagged rocks.

Before the alien can recover Wanda shoots tendrils of her powers into his mind, amplifying his pain from the impact by a thousand fold. He lets out an agonised roar and stumbles over his own feet. He doesn’t even notice the Hulkbuster tearing off a gauntlet and attaching it to his wrist.

Banner activates the gauntlet.

The three of them watch in silence as the shrinking form of their enemy streaks through the barrier like the mockery of a shooting star.

They watch his demise- a distant explosion.

A single firework.

Dead leaves crunch softly as Vision steps towards Wanda. She turns to him, fear melding with hope rising to her throat.

It’s been well over fifteen minutes since Shuri shut him down for the final step of the procedure. Banner was sure that even without the Stone, most of Vision himself would still be left. But it’s doing nothing to quell the storm in her mind.

Is he still the same person? Is he still the same man she grew to love? The same man who loves her in return?

But the moment she looks into the familiar soft warmth in his deep green eyes, she knows.

It’s him.

He smiles softly at her, but then his expression quickly hardens with determination. He slowly reaches up to the Stone with trembling fingers. Eyes closed, his fingertips rest against the Stone’s edges.

He pulls it out.

Wanda’s heart stops and she can faintly register Banner’s shocked gasp.

Yet…

Nothing happens.

Vision opens his eyes again, and aside from the gaping hole on his forehead, he appears completely fine.

He gently presses the Stone into Wanda’s hands.

“You know what to do.”

She looks up at him, and he gives her an encouraging smile. She glances at Banner, who gives her a slow nod.

Wanda cups the Stone in her palms, and pours her powers onto it until swirling red light pools forth and engulfs the gleaming yellow.

She doesn’t know how long it takes, but finally, it shatters.

Yellow shards scatter into the wind.

 

* * *

 

In the back of his mind, Thanos knows that he had failed.

His current opponents circle him and he continues to fight back. But he knows that his carefully laid plans have begun unravelling the moment he failed to reclaim the Space Stone from the remaining Asgardians.

_That damned pathetic Asgardian prince._

He didn’t patiently wait for hundreds of years just to have his plans for the universe foiled twice by the same man’s inability to do what was expected of him.

Thanos is used to opposition, and he’d learned the hard way that the only way to deal with it effectively is through force. If they cannot see that he’s trying to save the universe, then they’ll die for getting in his way; after all, dying now would spare them from the slower, more agonising path of what happened to his beautiful planet.

He remembers it all too clearly- no one had listened to him when he proposed his solution. And when the time came, it had hurt to see that he was right. It had hurt to see his detractors starve, succumb to untreated illnesses and numerous other things that the people of his parents’ generation hadn’t needed to worry about.

They had died for not seeing the truth.

And so will his current enemies before him.

Thanos grunts and struggles against the layers and layers of restraints that they have levelled against him. He has failed, and even if their narrow minds believe that killing him will solve their problems, they won’t be able to escape the fate that awaits them.

But then something lands on his shoulders, and the world around him abruptly dissolves into a haze. In the midst of the blur, the intensity of his emotions are knife sharp. It slices open his chest until his carefully suppressed feelings of regret and guilt pour out.

_She nods and turns away. The dark of her clothes, the dark of her hair melt into the shadows but her green skin remains a bright beacon. Her silent steps follow the Kree’s and they disappear from the ship._

_(She never came back)_

_He crouches amongst the chaos of burnt metal and broken glass. He doesn’t believe what he’s seeing. It’s her arm. It’s her switchblade._

_(He did this)_

_A one-armed ghost stands before him, haunting him, taunting him with her image._

_(It’s his fault)_

_He had ruined his own plans too when he killed Gamora._

_She was the key to the Soul Stone’s location._

_She was the child he loved the most._

_She didn’t deserve such a senseless and abrupt death._

_She didn’t deserve to get torn to pieces in some explosion._

_She didn’t deserve to be reduced to collateral damage._

The pain is indescribable. His body is paralysed and his vision is clouded with bursts of colours. There’s a roaring in his veins as a dizzying rush of sensations flood his entire being. The sudden sharpening of his senses is like a slap to the face. But somehow, it does nothing to wipe out the hallucination of Gamora’s ghost standing before him.

By the time Thanos notices the sudden weightlessness on his left hand, it’s too late.

He manages to kick and throw away those attempting to charge and attack him from the front and sides, but he doesn’t get enough time to move away before Gamora’s ghost slips behind him and runs her sword through his heart. His eyes widen and he barely has time to process that _she’s alive_ when a blur of blue suddenly fills his vision and Nebula stabs his neck.

His involuntary gasp comes out in a gurgle of blood. He staggers a few steps and his legs fold out under him.

Warily, one by one, his enemies circle his still form.

He’s lost.

He’s bleeding out. He’s fatally wounded. He wouldn’t expect any less from the blades of his children.

Ironic, how the very skills he had honed for them to serve him are now the direct cause for his downfall.

But now, without him to bring balance to the universe, they are all doomed to repeat history.

_When will they learn?_

The man in red armour- _Stark,_ he recognises- steps forward.

“What are the chances of you leaving everyone the hell alone if we let you live?”

Thanos doesn’t reply. What is there left to say at this point?

“It would have been impossible for you to win,” the former Watchman of Asgard adds, breaking the silence. “Even as we fought, the Space and Mind Stones were destroyed.”

At that, Thanos laughs. It sounds weak even to his own ears, and it only serves to release more blood from his wounds.

“You’re all fools,” he gasps. “You’ve doomed yourselves. The universe is heading towards destruction because there aren’t enough resources for everybody. I learnt that the hard way when my planet died. But they didn’t listen to me then, and you’re not listening to me now. On your deathbeds you’ll remember that I was right.”

“No.” Thanos heaves in a shallow breath and turns to the direction of Gamora’s voice. “You don’t actually care about the universe. You’re just a heartless, bloodthirsty murderer and you never cared about anything or anyone besides yourself.”

The wound in his chest twists painfully.

“Yeah,” Star-Lord agreed. “It would’ve made more sense if you wanted to use the Stones to create _more_ resources instead of just, y’know, killing everyone.”

Thanos watches as his enemies shift and murmur in response. With the exception of Nebula, who moves the Gauntlet in her hands and continues glaring at him.

Stark sighs.

“So, fixing overpopulation? Is that it? Your raison d'être?” He sighs again. “Yeah, yeah, with great healthcare and scientific advancements comes a healthier and therefore larger population. But have you considered that the problem might not have actually been overpopulation?”

Thanos frowns when he realises that Stark is being genuine, despite his sardonic manner of speech.

“But even then,” Stark continues, “What if it’s greed? What if it’s because there’s a select few people hoarding all the resources, dooming everyone else and eventually the entire race just because they don’t want to share?”

The Sorcerer raises an eyebrow at Stark, who puts up his hands in surrender.

“What? I’m saying this as a greedy, hoarding billionaire myself!”

Thanos had… never actually considered this before. Back then, it was just the way things worked- steady access to food, water and health services was something that only wealthy people had. There just wasn’t enough for the poor.

It feels… _wrong,_ to even think that perhaps there might have been enough for everyone.

That perhaps there _is_ enough for everyone.

Exhaustion creeps through his bones. His breaths are shallow, and it is getting harder to think.

Harder to move.

He can only watch as Nebula turns the Gauntlet over in her hands.

But she doesn’t put it on.

Instead, she hands it over to Gamora.

“Take it.”

Gamora looks just about as shocked as everyone else, but Nebula doesn’t relent. With a slight purse of her lips, Gamora reluctantly slips it onto her remaining left arm.

Her brown eyes meet his, and for the first time he sees the silent tears running down her hardened face.

He sees exactly what she plans to do.

_Ah, clever girl, not taking any chances._

The last thing Thanos sees before Death finally claims him are the twin glows of red and purple. After that, he feels himself become lighter and lighter as his body slowly disintegrates into dust.

_He’s so proud of her._

 

* * *

 

Vast fields of green have been torn into shreds of dead grass and patches of dirt. Thor’s arrival may have given the heroes the upper hand, but it also heralded the release of the giant saws and their devastation upon the battlefield.

But all hope isn’t lost.

With the defeat of the last of the Black Order comes the entrance of the Scarlet Witch, who obliterates the giant saws with controlled bursts of destruction at her fingertips. And she isn’t alone, for she arrives with Vision, the Hulkbuster, the Princess of Wakanda and the rest of the royal guards in tow.

They fight and they fight.

Slowly, the remainder of the Outriders dwindle until there are none left.

They win.

  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue next chapter! With the long-awaited Steve & Tony reconciliation :)


	6. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony (internally): Oh my god I bet he still hates me.  
> Steve (internally): Oh my god I bet he still hates me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit this is my first completed fanfic. Thank you all for following this and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. You can follow me on [tumblr](http://aphrodaisyacs.tumblr.com/) where I will occasionally talk about other fics I’ve got planned. I also have a [pillowfort](https://pillowfort.io/aphrodaisyacs) which is pretty new, so feel free to talk to me on either sites.

Tony slept through the entire ride back to Earth.

It wouldn’t have been such a bad thing, per se, if it weren’t for the fact that he did it while slumped over the Milano’s main table in a hard stool.

Tony stretches, then winces at the series of _cracks_ that follow.

He’s getting too old for this.

The arrival of the group from Titan receive a less than warm welcome from those in Wakanda. Which, fair enough, since previously all spaceships to Earth had meant bad news. The Wakandan soldiers only put down their weapons after everyone steps out of the Milano. Tony gets practically tackled and squeezed to death by Rhodey, and he can faintly register Heimdall suffering the same fate behind him, courtesy of Thor.

Turns out he had missed a laundry list’s worth of things since stowing away on that space donut, which was only what, a day ago? Bruce is back, so’s Thor and even _Loki_ (who’s apparently blue now and no longer crazy and bent on taking over the world). Steve and the other ex-Avengers are here too, and Tony does his best to ignore the twinge in his chest at the sight of them.

Luckily for Tony and his aversion to long overdue conversations, Thanos’ latest army had left such a mess in Wakanda that everyone is needed to help with the clean-up. There isn’t much they can do about whatever the hell happened to the grass fields, so they focus their efforts on the scattered corpses and whatever alien tech had been left behind.

But unluckily for him, Steve is determined to talk to him, and Tony can’t believe he’d almost forgotten how damn _stubborn_ the man can be. Steve has been unsubtly glancing at Tony’s way for the past ten or so minutes with that slight furrow between his brows, and Tony feigns ignorance and continues hauling alien corpses as if he wouldn’t rather launch himself into space again.

After all, he’s quite sure that Steve hates him.

Sure, Steve had said that he’d help if Tony needed him. But what if the moment he sees Tony again, he gets reminded of how much he hates the man who forced him to give up his shield, his symbol? The man who attacked his best friend, over something that said best friend was forced to do while tortured and brainwashed, even? Fucking hell, the more Tony thinks about it the more he feels like human garbage. He’s terrified at the idea of looking at Steve again for the first time since their fight, only for the other man to look back with hatred, disgust, disappointment or even apathy. And somehow apathy is the worst of the lot, because then it’d be as if Tony no longer means anything to him and that would _hurt_.

“Tony.”

_Think of the devil._

Tony deliberately throws another alien corpse into the back of the clean-up vehicle before turning around.

“Cap!” he exclaims, with probably a bit too much forced enthusiasm. Steve gives him A Look, and yep, definitely too much enthusiasm, because he isn’t buying it at all.

An awkward silence hangs between them and Tony struggles not to fidget too much as he turns his gaze towards everything but Steve’s face. Come on Tony, say something, _say something-_

“So… I heard that you’ve teamed up with Loki over there. Guess your type is tall, dark and murderous, huh?”

Tony instantly regrets the words the moment they leave his mouth, because if the expression on Steve’s face is anything to go by, he doesn’t find the half-assed joke funny at all.

Figures Tony would ruin things before they can even begin.

The awkwardness of the silence now has a sour edge to it, and the idea of being launched into space again to fight a Thanos 2.0 is becoming more and more appealing.

Suddenly a different voice cuts in.

“Well gee, this is getting painful to watch,” Barnes huffs. He meets Steve’s withering glare with a raised eyebrow as he strides over to them. He turns to Tony.

“Now that I’ve recovered and gotten all the trigger words out-” Barnes heaves out a sigh and looks straight at Tony with a startling amount of sincerity. “You can arrest me. I promise I won’t run anymore.”

“Buck-” Steve begins, but stops when Barnes merely shakes his head. They wait for Tony’s response.

Tony takes in Steve’s tense stance and Barnes’ kicked puppy look. Instantly, any and all emotions he had been feeling at that point drain out of him, leaving him empty and exhausted.

“Look-” Tony begins, “I’ve had some time to think about it and I really shouldn’t have gone crazy on you like that. You were tortured for what, 70 years? I can’t stay mad at you for that, I mean, back in-” Tony’s words get stuck in his throat at the creeping memories of dark, cold and _pain._ “Back in Afghanistan I barely even lasted like two days before I…” Tony swallows. “Look- I’m sorry. For being hard on you.”

Barnes’ eyes widen.

“What are you-”

“Nuh! Uh! Shh! Let me finish!” Tony cuts in, and winces when Barnes visibly startles. “I’m not saying we go run off and get friendship bracelets or anything, but. I don’t hate you. HYDRA wanted my parents killed, and if it wasn’t you who did it, they would’ve ordered someone else to. So I don’t blame you for my parent’s deaths. I was an asshole to do that two years ago, and I’m sorry, okay?”

Tony’s heart is thumping loudly in his ears, from the dizzying exhilaration of finally getting to word-vomit the messy apology that had been stewing in his mind for too long. That, and also because he doesn’t know how Barnes will react.

Barnes blinks at him, but the act does nothing to stop the tears sliding down his face. He sniffs and shakes his head.

“No, you’ve got nothing to be sorry for.” His voice is unsteady with barely suppressed sobs. “It was still me that did it, my own hands. You had every right to be angry.”

Tony gives a tired smile, even as his chest twists with guilt. On the side, Steve doesn’t even bother trying to hide his pained expression at the sight of Bucky’s tears.

“Well, I’m not,” Tony says. “Not anymore. There wasn’t a point to staying angry at you. Got better things to do- suits to upgrade, Wakandan tech to play with, spiderlings to look out for…” He knows he’s rambling at this point, so he falls silent as he watches Barnes heave in shaky breaths while Steve rubs soothing circles on his back.

Eventually Steve leans in and says something to Barnes’ ear, to which makes Barnes straighten up. He gives Steve a parting hug, and nods at Tony after letting go. Barnes directs a final “don’t fuck this up” look at Steve, then walks away.

 

* * *

 

As Steve watches Bucky leave, he becomes acutely aware of the way his best friend had eased the discomfort of the silence hanging between him and Tony.

It’s a relief to see that Tony had forgiven Bucky. But if the way he is still refusing to look at Steve is any indication, then well… Steve can’t exactly blame Tony if he still hates him. Steve would understand if Tony never forgives him for what went down last time they saw each other. But at the same time, it’d feel wrong if he didn’t even attempt to mend bridges. Especially since for the first time in two years, they finally have a chance to talk.

“I thought that Earth lost its greatest defender,” Steve says before the silence can descend into awkwardness again. “But then it turns out that he went off to take care of the real problem. So thank you for saving the universe.”

Tony lightly scoffs at that and crosses his arms.

“Nah, that was mostly Gamora and Nebula. I helped, a little.” He finally looks at Steve, with a carefully neutral expression. “But you took care of things on your end too didn’t you?”

“Well,” Steve says. “That was mostly Wanda and Thor actually. But I guess I helped, a little.”

Tony lets out a small huff of laughter at that, and Steve can’t help the amused smile spreading across his face.

The silence between them is now companionable. Steve would like more than anything to bask in it a little longer, but he clears his throat.

“I’m sorry. For hurting you. And for hiding secrets from you.”

Tony is wearing an unreadable expression on his face, but he doesn’t say anything so Steve continues.

“I could’ve- This could’ve been avoided if I just told you about the stuff I found on Bucky from the SHIELD-HYDRA files. But I just- couldn’t. I thought it would be better if I didn’t. And I was wrong.”

Tony sighs and drops his arms.

“I’d be a hypocrite if I pretended that I didn’t do the same thing with Ultron. I knew you guys wouldn’t approve so I kept it all hush-hush. I thought that I’d show you after it was done, then I’d be proven right and you’d have nothing to complain about.”

Steve rubs his hand over his face. What a pair they make. No wonder it had taken so little for Zemo to tear apart the Avengers.

“And I guess…” he continues. “I also want to thank you for forgiving Bucky.”

Tony waves a hand dismissively.

“Like I’ve said, I’ve had some time to think on it.”

He glances over at Steve.

“But what are you gonna do now?”

It’s a loaded question, and they both know it. Being constantly on the run hasn’t been easy- it’s something that Nat had gotten used to while he and Sam kept pushing themselves forward, but he can see the toll it’s taking on Wanda, even without the additional tiptoeing she had to go through to see Vision. The Accords have diminished the Avengers in more ways than one, and Steve has to admit that they only won this fight against Thanos through pure luck. Things would be so much easier if they just worked together again, without the shadow of the Accords looming over their heads. And now the tentative thread of reconnection that he’s formed with Tony might get ruined again by the very thing that tore them apart.

“I don’t know,” Steve finally admits. “But… probably back to what I was doing before.” He shrugs. “There’s not much else a wanted criminal can do.”

For the first time since the conversation started, Tony looks him dead in the eyes.

“But you don’t have to be one.”

Steve sees the faint glimmer of barely concealed hope in Tony’s eyes, and suddenly it clicks. Of course- Tony doesn’t hate him. Or at least, not anymore. Somewhere along the way, he must’ve forgiven Steve as well. It makes sense now, the way Iron Man and the Avengers’ hunt for Captain America and the other ex-Avengers on Ross’ orders always seemed half-hearted at best. Tony’s always had a bigger heart than he’d let on.

“Tony, I- I’m sorry, I really am, but…” Something sinks in Steve’s chest at the way Tony’s expression begins closing off. “There’s no way things can go back to the way they used to be. The Accords- they’re gonna look at this-” He gestures in the direction where the group from Titan- the Guardians of the Galaxy, as they had introduced themselves as- are playfully competing to see which one of them can clear the most alien corpses. “-and see dangerous individuals who need to be controlled and contained, even though they helped save the universe.”

Tony exhales loudly.

“Well I think that given all the shit that just went down in the past 24 hours, they’re gonna have to update the Accords anyway. This whole thing’s gonna be a paperwork nightmare, but…” he trails off, and waves vaguely with a hand.

“Yeah,” Steve says, understanding what Tony’s too tired to articulate. Then, something suddenly crosses his mind.

“Loki and Bruce also said that Asgard’s been destroyed- there are escape pods filled with Asgardian refugees who were evacuated from the main ship after Thanos attacked. Chances are, they’re gonna be heading to Earth now that it’s safe.”

Tony blinks at that, then sucks in a breath and runs a hand over his face.

“Hoo boy I am _not_ looking forward to that. Our government bigshots already get their panties in a twist when it’s refugees from a different country, but from an alien god planet? It’s gonna be a complete shitshow.”

Steve grimaces, because he knows Tony’s right.

“Well, at least Thor will be the one representing them, since he’s now their king,” Steve offers. That, and Thor has a track record of being charismatic and well-liked by the general public. Not that either of those things had helped Steve much at all, but he can only hope that things will turn out better for his friend. After all, he can’t even begin to imagine what it must be like to be forced to flee your own planet.

“Then will you be sticking around to help?”

Steve is aware of the way Tony is watching carefully for his reaction. He turns his gaze towards the devastated Wakandan fields, at everyone who is helping with the cleanup. He imagines standing with them, giving a statement to the general public on the intergalactic war that had taken place right under their noses. He looks at where Thor is laughing with the Guardians as he joins in with their games, and tries to imagine the myriad of ways in which the international governments would object to their very presence on Earth, would object to the Asgardian refugees on Earth. His mind is already spinning with counter-arguments for each and every one of them. He looks at the other Avengers scattered throughout the field, at the way they’ve seamlessly clicked back together as if they were never separated in the first place. He looks at where Princess Shuri is chattering excitedly with the young spider boy, and he looks at where the raccoon had broken off from the Guardians to speak to Bucky about something which makes his best friend frown.

Steve looks back at Tony. He’s not quite smiling, but it’s close.

“Maybe.”

He’ll see where things go from here.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Post-credits scene: Clint, Scott and Hope show up 3hrs late with Starbucks


End file.
